Two tourists face deportation a day after arriving in New Zealand with no clear plans to self-isolate as the country tries to halt the spread of coronavirus.

They are the first to be face deportation as officials kick off spot checks of those who arrived in the country after 1am on Monday to ensure they self-isolate for 14 days.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) said the pair arrived from South East Asia on Monday morning. The pair are required to remain in New Zealand for 14 days of self-isolation.

"This kind of behaviour is completely irresponsible and will not be tolerated which is why these individuals have been made liable for deportation," INZ compliance and verification general manager Stephen Vaughan said.

"They are currently being quarantined. If they fail to depart after quarantine, they will be arrested and detained under the Immigration Act."

Officers arrived at the Rucksacker backpacker hostel in Christchurch about 11.30am on Tuesday. A witness reported seeing a police prisoner van transport a woman wearing a mask, and several police officers were seen speaking to other backpackers.

The hostel's manager, who declined to be named, said a woman wearing a face mask arrived late on Monday night to check-in. The woman, who was originally booked into a dorm for one night, asked for a private room.

"I put her into a private room and then in the morning when I got up to open reception there was a lady from the Ministry of Health here coming to check on her and ask what her plans were for her isolation," the manager said.

"They were just questioning her for a little bit in my office. And then a couple of hours later we had about five police officers an another person from the ministry and they eventually took her away."

She said the woman was "a bit upset", but did not cause a scene.

The manager said the officers told her the woman was supposed to self-isolate, but had no proper plans to do so.

"She didn't have a hotel booked or Airbnb booked or anything like that ... because of that they had to take her away and put her back on a flight to where she came from.

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"She was only here for two weeks overall and obviously if you have to self-isolate there really isn't any point coming here."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern earlier warned travellers who flouted self-isolation rules would be liable for deportation and face fines.

On Tuesday, Ministry of Health director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield confirmed the intention was to deport the woman – the first and only such deportation he knew about. 

"We are also starting from today (Tuesday), the spot checks on people," he said. 

"I can understand why someone who might've planned a trip for a long time, ... might be disappointed to find at the eleventh hour that they can't travel around the country," he said.

Bloomfield said health staff were at borders, quizzing people about their plans for self-isolation. 

Anyone who knew of travellers who weren't going to self-isolate should notify Customs or Healthline, he said.

Tourism operators are being asked by officials to be vigilant.

Akaroa Dolphins owner Hugh Waghorn said he was checking the arrival dates of every tourist passenger to ensure they were abiding by isolation regulations. Police had spoken to him about the situation on Tuesday, he said.

Ardern earlier said there would be "zero tolerance" for those who did not follow the rules of self-isolation. 

"If you come here and have no intention of following our requests to self-isolate, frankly you are not welcome and you should leave before you are deported."

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said he was aware of the Christchurch incident, but could not comment as the operation was under way.

"The message is absolutely clear – if people do not adhere to the self-isolation requirements there will be repercussions."

There were provisions in the Immigration Act that allowed for deportation in such situations.

A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said virtually all people arriving in New Zealand were agreeing to self-isolate.

"So far we have been made aware of a very small number of people (less than a handful) who have indicated that they are disregarding the self-isolation rules."

A police spokeswoman said Immigration New Zealand was the lead agency for the incident. Each deportation was considered on a case-by-case basis.

"Police may be requested to support these interactions, however, police has paused our assisted deportations until such time we can secure the return of our travelling staff."